Privacy Policy.

The Short Version

Who We Are

The Trip Route (thetriproute.com) is operated by WATERFORD SLO LTD, a private limited company registered in England and Wales (company number 14221091), with its registered office at Waterford Arms, Collywell Bay Road, Seaton Sluice, Whitley Bay, NE26 4QZ, United Kingdom. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean WATERFORD SLO LTD.

We are the controller of the personal information described in this policy. As a UK company, we comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Most of our readers live in Australia, so we also handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

For any privacy question or request, email hello@thetriproute.com with "Privacy" in the subject line.

What We Collect

We only collect personal information that you give us, plus the basic technical information that every website receives.

If you contact us

When you use the form on our contact page, we receive your name, email address, the topic you chose, your message and the page you sent it from. The form sends your message from our website to our mailbox through our email service provider. We don't keep a copy on the web server.

If you email us directly, we receive your email address, your name if you include it, and everything in your message and any attachments.

Spam protection on our contact form

To stop automated spam, our server limits how many messages can be sent from one internet connection in a short time. For this it briefly keeps a scrambled (hashed) form of your IP address, never the address itself, and clears it automatically, normally within an hour.

When you visit any page

Our hosting provider automatically records standard request details in server logs, such as your IP address, browser type, the page requested, the referring page and the date and time. These logs are used to deliver the website, prevent abuse and fix faults, not to profile visitors.

We advertise The Trip Route on Google Ads. If you arrive by clicking one of our ads, Google adds a click identifier to the page address. We don't use any Google tags to read or store it, although it may appear in the server logs described above.

What we don't collect

We don't run analytics, advertising tags, social media pixels or session recording on this website, and we don't use cookies. The only thing stored in your browser is your answer to our cookie notice, which stays on your device (see our Cookie Policy). We don't offer accounts, take payments or ask for sensitive information such as health details. Please don't include sensitive information in messages to us.

How We Use Information

• To reply to your messages and emails, including questions, corrections and privacy requests. Lawful basis: our legitimate interest in running the website and responding to readers.
• To keep the website secure and working, including protecting our contact form from spam. Lawful basis: our legitimate interests.
• To meet legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from authorities. Lawful basis: legal obligation.

We only use personal information for the purpose we collected it for, or a closely related purpose you would reasonably expect. We don't sell it, use it for advertising, or make automated decisions about you.

Booking.com Links and the Search Bar

Our accommodation links open Booking.com, either directly or through an affiliate network that records the referral. Each link includes a tracking code that identifies The Trip Route and the page the link was on, so a qualifying booking can be credited to us. The code doesn't contain your name or contact details.

When you use the accommodation search bar on our pages, the destination, dates and number of guests you enter are added to the Booking.com address that opens in a new tab. They're sent to Booking.com, not to us.

Booking.com handles your search and any booking as an independent business under its own privacy policy. We receive commission reports that show booking details such as dates and booking value, but not your name, email address or payment details, so we can't link a booking to you. Read more in our Affiliate Disclosure.

Who We Share Information With

• Our website hosting provider, which stores the website and its server logs.
• Our email service provider (currently Resend, Inc., based in the United States), which delivers messages from our contact form to our mailbox. It may only use them to provide that service to us.
• Our mailbox provider, which stores the emails you send to hello@thetriproute.com and the messages from our contact form.
• Professional advisers, regulators, police or courts, where the law requires it or to protect our legal rights.
• A buyer or successor, if the website or business is ever transferred. They would have to keep to this policy.

Our providers act on our instructions under contracts that protect your information. We don't share personal information with advertisers or data brokers.

Overseas Transfers

We're based in the United Kingdom and most of our readers are in Australia, so personal information you give us is held outside Australia. Our providers may store or process it in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States.

When information leaves the UK, we rely on UK adequacy regulations or approved safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement. For readers in Australia, we choose providers that protect personal information to a standard consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.

How Long We Keep Information

• Messages you send us, by email or through our contact form: for up to 24 months after we've dealt with your message, then deleted, unless we need them for a legal claim. Our email service provider keeps a delivery record of each form message for a limited period under its own retention settings.
• Spam-protection records: a hashed form of your IP address, normally cleared within an hour.
• Server logs: for a limited period set by our hosting provider, after which they are deleted or overwritten.

Security

Our website is served over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection. Access to our mailbox and email service accounts is limited to the people who need it and protected with strong passwords and two-factor authentication where available. No method of sending information over the internet is completely secure, but if a data breach is likely to put you at risk, we'll tell you and the relevant regulator as the law requires.

Your Rights

You can ask us to:

• give you a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• correct information that is inaccurate or out of date;
• delete your information;
• restrict or object to how we use it; and
• send your information to you or another organisation in a portable format.

Under the Australian Privacy Principles you also have the right to access and correct the personal information we hold about you. To make any request, email hello@thetriproute.com. We don't charge for requests, and we'll respond as soon as we can and within one month. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your personal information, please email us first so we can put it right. We'll acknowledge your complaint and respond within one month.

• United Kingdom: you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
• Australia: if you're not satisfied with our response, you may be able to complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

Children

The Trip Route is written for adults planning travel and isn't directed at children. If you think a child has given us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We'll update this policy whenever what we collect or the services we use change. That includes before we ever add analytics or advertising tags, which would only run with your consent. The date at the top of this page shows the current version.

Contact Us

See also our Terms of Use, Cookie Policy and Affiliate Disclosure.